The role of smart urban governance in the sustainable development of sports tourism in Isfahan

Abstract

This study aimed to explain the role of smart urban governance in the sustainable development of sports tourism in Isfahan. Given the complexity of the interaction between urban institutions, the tourism industry, and sports, a qualitative approach was chosen to discover the mechanisms of impact of smart governance on sustainability dimensions. The research strategy was content analysis, and data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 22 experts in the fields of urban management, sports management, tourism, urban planning, and smart technologies. Sampling was purposeful and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. After full implementation, the interview texts were reviewed through a multi-stage coding and analysis process, and a network of themes was extracted. The findings showed that the smart urban governance model in the sustainable development of Isfahan sports tourism is based on five major dimensions: (1) institutional and legal system and governance structure (institutional integrity, integrated policy-making, transparency and accountability), (2) data management and smart technology (integrated data bank, data-driven decision-making, security and digital trust), (3) economic management and investment (sustainable revenue models, public-private partnership, market regulation and service quality), (4) destination experience design and management (single service platform, smart transportation, event management and safety), and (5) environmental and social sustainability and urban identity (green event, stakeholder participation, distribution of benefits and synergy of sport with heritage). Based on the results, the effectiveness of smart governance is achieved when institutional integrity and data governance proceed simultaneously with stakeholder participation and management of environmental and social impacts. The achievement of this research is to provide a practical framework for urban policymakers and sports tourism managers to promote the competitiveness and sustainability of the Isfahan destination.